Blue Jays-Nationals Preview

Another solid performance from the Washington Nationals'
pitching staff helped Willie Harris become the latest hero for
the suddenly surging team.

The Nationals enter Sunday's finale of a three-game set against
the visiting Toronto Blue Jays searching for a season-high fifth
straight victory and first series sweep this season.

Harris' two-run homer in the 12th inning Saturday lifted
Washington to a 5-3 victory. That came one night after Adam
Dunn's bases-loaded single led the Nationals (20-46) to a 2-1
win in 11 innings.

The Nats started their streak by taking the final two games of a
series against the Yankees in New York.

"We really feel like we can win every game," said Harris, who
had two hits for the third time this season and scored twice on
Saturday. "When you're losing ballgames, you get a gut feeling
you're going to lose a game somehow. Things are going well for
us now."

Before Harris' heroics, rookie left-hander Ross Detwiler pitched
seven strong innings and exited with a 3-2 lead that veteran Kip
Wells couldn't protect. However, four other pitchers combined to
allow two hits after that.

The Nationals, on their longest winning streak since taking
seven straight from Aug. 26-Sept. 1, have posted a 1.32 ERA in
their four wins and seen their team mark drop from 5.33 to 5.05.

After scoring 23 runs and batting .333 in a three-game sweep at
defending World Series champion Philadelphia earlier this week,
Toronto (37-33) has hit .190 while scoring four runs in the
first two contests in Washington.

"(Washington) pitched as well as we have," said Blue Jays
manager Cito Gaston, who marked the one-year anniversary of his
return to the team Saturday. "They've just managed to outscore
us. ... In baseball you don't stay hot all the time."

Vernon Wells, however, ended his the longest homerless drought
of his career at 160 at-bats with a solo shot off Detwiler, and
is 9 for 26 (.346) in his last five games following an 0-for-16
slump.

Scott Rolen, who had the tying RBI single in the eighth, has
batted .455 (20 for 44) during a 10-game hitting streak, and is
hitting a team-high .326 overall.

Washington rookie Shairon Martis (5-1, 4.76 ERA) will be looking
for his first victory since May 13. After winning five of his
first seven starts, Martis has come up empty in his last six
outings despite a recent run of solid performances.

The right-hander has a 2.00 ERA in his three starts this month,
but has received four runs of support.

The Blue Jays will counter with fellow rookie Ricky Romero (3-3,
3.73), who has showed signs of improvement after struggling
earlier in his return from a strained right oblique.

After winning two of his first three major league starts, the
left-hander missed more than a month before coming back May 26.
He posted a 9.64 ERA while losing both his May starts, but is
1-1 with a 3.10 ERA in three this month.

The Nationals, whose previous series sweep was at home from Aug.
29-31 against Atlanta, have never swept the Blue Jays since
moving from Montreal in 2005. The only sweep of Toronto in
franchise history was from June 14-16, 2002, at Olympic Stadium.